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from Bruce
Garrison Keillor: What happened in church on Sunday, I think
The good people of Lake Wobegon voted for Mr. Trump, just like the residents of River City bought musical instruments from Professor Harold Hill to keep their boys out of the pool hall, but if their man's secrets are revealed, they might have to think twice. He's a New Yorker who made his way up with mob connections, hung out with showgirls, was chintzy with charitable giving, and flaunted himself as Midwesterners were taught not to do. After 9/11, he boasted that his building at 40 Wall Street was now the tallest in Manhattan, this while smoke was still rising from the ruins of the World Trade Center. But they are still backing him.
Paul Waldman: It looks like Trump's effort to rig the census may succeed (Washington Post)
we know what the results will be. Immigrant communities will be undercounted. Resources and power will be shifted from them to white communities. It will be one more thumb on the scale for the GOP, part of a broad campaign to rig the political system that includes a sweeping vote suppression effort aimed at African Americans and Latinos. And minority rule - the ability of Republicans to maintain power even when most Americans oppose them and their agenda - will be strengthened. Which goes to show that when you've got five partisan justices on the Supreme Court, you can do just about anything you want.
Peter Bradshaw: Avengers: Endgame review - unconquerable brilliance takes Marvel to new heights (The Guardian)
The climactic movie in the Avengersseries is an irresistible blend of action and comedy, guaranteeing a sugar rush of delirious enjoyment of its many pleasures.
Peter Bradshaw: Monty Python's Life of Brian review - an unholy work of satirical genius (The Guardian)
Despite its absurdity and button-pushing bad taste, this mock epic stands up four decades on as a stirring paean to tolerance.
Lili Loofbourow: Why Did Game of Thrones Turn on Daenerys Targaryen? (Slate)
She used to be the Breaker of Chains, but now the show seems hell-bent on convincing us she's unfit to rule.
Inkoo Kang: Game of Thrones'Controversial Sex Scene Gave Arya Back a Little Bit of Her Humanity (Slate)
in its final season, Game of Thrones maybe finally restoring Arya's humanity. Her seeming peace with the Hound and Beric Dondarrion, both of whose names once sat on her kill list alongside more powerful players like Cersei and Melisandre, suggests an increased understanding of moral grayness, as well as the relativity of power and the redemptive potential of some of her enemies. The Hound, for example, may have helped kill her father, but he, too, is a victim of familial and royal brutality. In other words, she regained her soul-or, if you prefer, stopped being such a know-it-all teenage shit, with the black-and-white ethics to match. Completing the kill list at this point of her character arc, in contrast, would feel like settling permanently into arrested development.
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from Bruce
Anecdotes
Actress Nan Martin was dancing during opening night of The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, California, when her feet lost their footing on the steeply raked stage and she fell hard on her rear end - so hard that the stage shook and over 700 people gasped. A pro, she got up and continued dancing. At the end of her dance, the audience gave her a thunderous burst of applause. Ms. Martin reflected that the mishap is "theatre epitomized. It couldn't have happened in film or television; there would have been a re-take. But theatre is immediate, now, and the reality of live breathing people, flesh and blood actors and audiences is what makes theatre special, necessary, eternal." Here is another theatrical mishap: actors Fritz Weaver and Albert Dekker were on stage at the Mark Taper Forum when someone in the audience sneezed. Mr. Dekker cheerfully called to the audience member, "Gesundheit!" Mr. Weaver regarded this as "an early sign that a special relationship would exist between audience and performer at the Taper." One more story: This is not a mishap, but it is an example of the camaraderie of actors at the Taper. When deaf actress Phyllis Frelich went to the Taper to perform in Children of a Lesser God, most of the staff used sign language to greet her. She said that "many went well beyond 'How are you? I'm fine.' I was flattered and impressed."
Drama critic Alexander Woollcott was an original. Often, his small nieces visited him, and he sent them in the company of one of his friends to see a play that he had selected for them to see. Often, the play was about adult themes, which did not bother the young nieces, although shocked playgoers sometimes reprimanded Alec's friend for allowing such young girls to see such a play. By the way, his nieces discovered that in Alec's bathroom was a portrait of him sitting on the toilet and reading. Alec could be humorously blunt. Whenever his nieces would leave after the weekend, he would tell them, "I'm sick of having you around. Now get the hell out of here." And when Polly, his youngest niece, achieved age 14 and finally wore a grown-up outfit, he displayed her to his friends and announced, "This is my niece Polly, who is going to be a prostitute."
Ruth Draper used to perform long on-stage monologues such as "The Italian Lesson," in which a New York society lady's translation of the beginning of Dante's Inferno is continually interrupted. Ms. Draper's monologue reveals the society lady's life. One person who was influenced by her was Joyce Grenfel, who also performed on-stage monologues. Ms. Draper was a cousin to Joyce Grenfel's father, and "Miss Ruth" used to help take care of the very young Joyce and her very young brother in the nursery. Following a Ruth Draper performance in London, the adult Joyce Grenfel went backstage and told her, "I don't know how anyone even dares mention my name with yours." Miss Ruth replied, "They don't."
Alfred Bloomingdale, famous for his department store, once produced a play on Broadway. Like so many people before and after him, he ran into out-of-town play trouble and called for George S. Kaufman, the great play doctor. Mr. Bloomingdale brought Mr. Kaufman to the play in a limousine, and after Mr. Kaufman had seen the play, Mr. Bloomingdale said to him, "Well, George, you've seen my show. Please, help me! I've put an awful lot of money into this show. What should I do?" Mr. Kaufman replied, "Close the show and keep the store open nights."
These are two truths: 1) Divorce can be hard, and 2) The show must go on. Julie Harris was going through a divorce while acting with Eli Wallach in Jean Anouilh's Mademoiselle Columbe. For the most part, she did not reveal the stress she was under, but immediately before the curtain went up for a matinee, with tears in her eyes she told Mr. Wallach, "I wish I was dead." With a matinee for the two of them to perform immediately, Mr. Wallach told her, "Julie, listen, we have a matinee. We'll talk about your death later."
Actor James "Jim" Lewis was a true friend to fellow actor John Drew. A group of theatrical people and their families were staying together at West Hampton, Long Island, and Mr. Lewis saw a newspaper article in which a theatrical critic had disparaged Mr. Drew and his acting abilities (or lack of them, as the critic would have it). Mr. Lewis gathered up all the newspapers that carried the negative review in the large house the actors were staying at and cut it out of each copy so that Mr. Drew and his family would not be able to read it.
Early in his career, comedian Red Skelton joined a troupe of actors and played straight roles. For example, he played many roles in a play version of Uncle Tom's Cabin. He once ran into a problem when he played a slave escaping across a frozen river: The bloodhounds would not chase him. To solve the problem, Red filled his pockets with raw beef liver. The bloodhounds did chase him, and they ripped his clothing - and him - to get at the raw beef liver. Red was left with permanent scars.
Drama critic Robert Benchley knew the plays on Broadway very well. Occasionally, he would leave an unbearable play and go on a round of several plays, arriving just in time to stand in the back and watch a favorite scene, then moving on to arrive at another play just in time to watch a favorite scene, etc. Often, he would take a friend on one of these tours.
Edwin Booth and Tommaso Salvini appeared together in Othello over a century ago. Mr. Booth appeared as Iago, and Ms. Salvini appeared as Othello. Mr. Booth performed well in the early acts, but he became ill and could barely stand when Othello assaulted him. He nearly fell into the orchestra pit, but Mr. Salvini used his immense strength to hold him up and continued to perform the scene as if Mr. Booth were not ill.
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Calls Out Jared
Hasan Minhaj
Jared Kushner was a surprise guest at Tuesday night's annual Time 100 gala. The senior adviser to his father-in-law, president Donald Trump (R-Gluttonous), got a surprise roasting from comedian Hasan Minhaj, who called out Kushner for human rights in Saudi Arabia.
The host of Netflix's "Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj" - one of the hundred most influential people honored by Time magazine this year across entertainment, arts, journalism, activism, politics, sports, and more - was selected to make a toast at the exclusive soiree, held at the swanky Lincoln Center in New York City.
"There are people on the front lines that cannot be here, like Loujain al-Hathloul, who is a Saudi activist who helped fight to lift the women's driving ban, and she is currently in prison. She cannot be with us here tonight. She has been tortured," Minhaj said of al-Hathloul, who is one of Time magazine's 100 honorees this year.
Without mentioning Kushner by name, Minhaj continued his monologue in the pin-drop quiet room where you could certainly feel a bit of awkward tension.
"I know there's a lot of very powerful people here," the comedian said. "It would be crazy if there was a high-ranking official in the White House that could WhatsApp MBS and say, 'Hey, maybe you could help that person get out of prison because they don't deserve it,' but that would be crazy. That would be - that person would have to be in the room, but that's just a good comedy premise."
Hasan Minhaj
Academy Leaves Oscar Eligibility Rule Unchanged
Netflix Wins
The Academy Board of Governors tonight made several rule changes for next awards season. Not among them: a rumored reckoning over eligibility for films generated by streaming services like Netflix.
"We support the theatrical experience as integral to the art of motion pictures, and this weighed heavily in our discussions," said Academy President John Bailey in a statement put out by AMPAS late Tuesday after the organization's annual Rules meeting had wrapped up.
Going into tonight's meeting of the 54-person board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, pointed criticism that was expressed (and then unexpressed) by Steven Spielberg and others, and a warning expressed by the Justice Department about excluding Netflix seemed to set up a potential confrontation.
Instead, the board left intact Rule Two, the one that established that a film can be eligible for Oscars if it has a minimum 7-day theatrical run in a L.A. County commercial theater. That theater has to have a minimum of three screenings each of those seven days for paid admission, and that those movies can be released on streaming sites on or after the first day of their theatrical qualifying run.
Tonight, by not excluding Netflix films from competition the way that the Cannes Film Festival did, the Academy has left itself open to the influence of changes that will become more exacerbated as more major studio-backed streaming services get underway.
Netflix Wins
Las Vegas Residency
Sting
Sting is headed to Vegas. The long-ago Police frontman has announced a concert residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace starting in May 2020, with shows set for the following June, August and September. See the schedule below.
Sting: My Songs kicks off May 22, 2020. In an interview with the Associated Press, the 17-time Grammy winner said he was "really committed" to a true Las Vegas experience.
A total of 16 performances are planned, and tickets will have a reasonable starting price point of $59.
The 67-year-old performer said he finds the residency concept appealing: "Being in one place is actually a different, spiritual vibe. Welcoming people into your house - that's basically what it's going to be. I'll be telling the story of my life through songs. I've had a long, interesting life and I can't wait."
Sting
Orders 'Star Trek' Animated Series
Nickelodeon
A new "Star Trek" animated series from "LEGO Ninjago" writers Kevin and Dan Hageman has been ordered to series at Nickelodeon.
The CG-animated project, which hails from CBS Television Studios, "follows a group of lawless teens who discover a derelict Starfleet ship and use it to search for adventure, meaning and salvation."
Even though the series is being overseen by "Star Trek" boss Alex Kurtzman, this will be the first of these new "Star Trek" TV projects not intended for CBS All Access. The new cartoon series, targeted towards younger audiences, will be a major tentpole series for Nickelodeon, a person with knowledge of the project told TheWrap back in February.
Kurtzman will executive produce the new animated "Star Trek" series alongside Kevin and Dan Hageman. Heather Kadin, Katie Krentz, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth will also executive produce. Aaron Baiers will serve as a co-executive producer. The project will be overseen for Nickelodeon by Ramsey Naito, EVP of Animation Production and Development.
The new animated "Star Trek" series comes from CBS' Eye Animation Productions, CBS Television Studios' new animation arm, Secret Hideout, and Roddenberry Entertainment. Claudia Spinelli, VP Animation Development, Nickelodeon, is the executive in charge of the new animated "Star Trek" series for Nickelodeon.
Nickelodeon
New Hot Air Balloon
Baby Blimp
Anti-Trump activists have revealed the Donald Trump (R-Avaricious) baby blimp will fly over London once again this summer in protest against the US president's state visit to the UK.
The six-metre-high balloon - depicting Mr Trump as an orange, nappy-wearing infant - was first hoisted in Parliament Square during his visit to Britain last year and campaigners are hoping to stage even bigger demonstrations when he arrives in June.
Leo Murray, who helped crowdfund the blimp last year, and his fellow activists are reportedly "toying" with the idea of raising money for a baby hot air balloon about five times the size of the original balloon.
Since it first appeared over London, the baby balloon has been used at protests in New York City, Paris and Dublin.
The Stop Trump Coalition and Stand Up To Trump, a range of campaigns against war, austerity and racism, staged protests during the US president's last UK visit. The two bodies have again joined forces for the planned Together Against Trump demonstrations.
Mr Trump is expected to spend part of his visit at Buckingham Palace where a state banquet will be staged in his honour, but he will not be staying at the Queen's royal residence.
Baby Blimp
Civil Lawsuit
R. Kelly
R. Kelly has lost a civil lawsuit in which he is accused of sexually assaulting an underage girl in the 1990s. The Chicago Sun-Times reports the presiding judge issued a default judgment after the disgraced singer failed to appear in Cook County court to face the complaint. The plaintiff's legal team claimed Kelly and his lawyers have ignored court summonses since the suit was filed in late February, shortly after Kelly was arrested on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
"Robert Sylvester Kelly has failed and refused to file an appearance or answer to the Complaint even though [he is] required to do so," the plaintiff's attorney's wrote in their motion for default judgment.
A spokesperson for the Cook County Sheriff's office told the Sun-Times that Kelly was served while he was in county jail for unpaid child support.
The woman is seeking $50,000 in damages. She is scheduled to appear in court next month to detail the alleged abuse. The judge will then decide how much money the accuser will receive from Kelly.
The plaintiff, who was identified as "H.W." in court documents, is one of the accusers in Kelly's ongoing sexual abuse case. The woman claims that after she was introduced to Kelly at her 16th birthday party, they had yearlong sexual relationship while she was still underage. The case involves a total of four women, three of whom were minors at the time of the alleged sexual abuse.
R. Kelly
Scientists Create Giant Atlas
Most Remote Reefs
Coral reefs line shores around the world, but they're sometimes tough to spot because well, they're underwater. Now, a group of researchers has found that satellite imagery is capable of mapping reefs on a global scale. They've used the technology, along with field studies, to create the world's most thorough coral reef atlas to date-including some of the most remote reefs on Earth.
A study describing the atlas, published in the Coral Reefs journal last week, confirm that a mapping method typically reserved for individual reefs that stretch hundreds or thousands of square miles can map reefs on a much larger scale. Maps like this are key to reef conservation: Before we can figure out how to save reefs, we need to know where they are or how large they are.
Using satellites and field observations, the authors mapped more than 25,000 square miles of corals. They've published these maps in an online database called the World Reef Map where viewers can pop into the reefs from Fiji to Seychelles. In some locations, the map offers some actual underwater footage of what the reefs look like.
Gathering all these pieces wasn't easy. The team-whose researchers hail from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, which funded exhibitions and provided the vessel to reach all the reefs-spent 10 years traveling across 11 countries to compile field information about more than a thousand coral reefs. The authors didn't map popular locations like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia; they sought the most understudied reefs, said author Sam Purkis, the chair of the University of Miami's Department of Marine Geosciences.
They sought the highest level of detail, too, going so far as to map the reefs to a single square meter using satellites. The online atlas also includes information on the surrounding habitat to provide a fuller picture of how the reefs are doing. Users can look at nearby seagrass and mangrove forest density, for instance. While the researchers wanted to see whether satellites are a good tool for analyzing reefs on a global scale, they also wanted to gather as much information about these ecosystems as possible.
Most Remote Reefs
In Memory
Ken Kercheval
Actor Ken Kercheval, who played blundering Texas oilman Cliff Barnes on TV's iconic "Dallas" oil opera, has died in his Indiana hometown, according to a local funeral home. He was 83.
Kercheval was best known for his portrayal of Barnes, the lawyer-turned-oilman who was forever butting heads with Larry Hagman's ruthless J.R. Ewing - and usually losing.
Besides Hagman, Kercheval was the only actor on the big-hair, big-oil series to appear throughout the original 13-year run of the CBS show that ended in 1991. Kercheval also reprised the role in the 1996 "Dallas" TV film, in the 2004 CBS reunion special, and in the 2012-14 "Dallas" reboot on TNT.
After a stint at the University of Indiana, Kercheval began training as an actor in the mid-1950s at The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, making his Broadway debut in the 1962 play "Something About a Soldier." Multiple theater roles followed, including in "Cabaret" and, in 1966, as the title character in the original Broadway production of "Fiddler on the Roof."
His first TV roles were in soap operas such as "Search for Tomorrow," "The Secret Storm" and "How to Survive a Marriage." His film credits included "The Seven-Ups" with Roy Scheider plus "F.I.S.T." with Sylvester Stallone.
After "Dallas," Kercheval appeared in numerous other TV series, including "Kojak," "Starsky & Hutch," "L.A. Law," "Crossing Jordan," and "ER." In the 1980s, he appeared on the game shows "Super Password" and "The $25,000 Pyramid." In the 2000s, he appeared in multiple community theater productions.
On his IMDb page, his last movie role is listed as 2019's "Surviving in L.A.," a comedy/drama in which he plays the business manager of a former teen sitcom star who trashed her life through drug abuse and is fresh out of rehab.
Ken Kercheval
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